DCOP Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), has revealed that two Ghanaian women who were recently rescued from kidnappers in Nigeria fell victim to an elaborate online romance scam.

The victims, identified as Anastasia Badoo Atta and Serwaa Konadu, were lured through Facebook by individuals posing as white suitors offering marriage. What began as virtual courtship turned into a nightmare after the women traveled to Nigeria, where they were abducted.

“The suspects met the two victims through their Facebook accounts, posed as white men who wanted to marry them, and convinced them to accept the marriage proposal,” said DCOP Lydia Yaako Donkor.

Their harrowing experience gained national attention after a disturbing video emerged, showing the women stripped naked, tied up, and assaulted with cutlasses by their captors. The kidnappers also threatened to kill them and covered their heads with black polythene bags before sending the footage to their families while demanding a ransom of GHS500,000 per victim.

In a collaborative effort between the Ghana Police Service, the National Signals Bureau (NSB), and the Nigeria Police Force, a coordinated operation led to the arrest of eight suspects across both countries. The main suspect, Peter Okoye, along with two accomplices, allegedly held the women captive from April 22, 2025.

Despite the kidnappers' high ransom demands, only GHS18,000 was sent by the victims’ families to various mobile money numbers traced to the suspects.

DCOP Donkor disclosed that both the rescued victims and the arrested suspects are currently in the custody of Nigerian authorities. Arrangements are ongoing to bring the victims back to Ghana and to extradite the suspects to assist with investigations.

“At the moment, information received from our counterparts in Nigeria indicates that both victims are fine. They have received routine medical checks,” she assured.